OpenAI updates its Codex desktop app with features like computer control, an in-app browser, image generation, automation memory, plugin support, and more
ZDNETDavid Gewirtz
Context & Ripple Effects
Codex moved from a macOS command center for coding agents in February to a Windows release with native sandboxing and PowerShell support in March. This update broadens the desktop app from agent-session management toward a more self-contained environment for executing and coordinating work.
The related coverage also points to an expanding access model: Codex later gained remote control through the ChatGPT mobile app. Together, the releases position Codex as a persistent cross-device work surface rather than a single-platform coding utility.
First-order effects
Codex desktop users gain browser access, computer control, image generation, remembered automation context, and plugins within the same application, reducing the need to switch among separate tools for supported tasks.
OpenAI expands Codex’s scope beyond coding-agent oversight into direct task execution and extensibility on the desktop.
Second-order effects
Competing agent and developer-tool vendors face pressure to combine execution, browsing, persistent context, and integrations rather than compete on model access or chat alone.
Plugin support creates a route for third-party tools to reach Codex users, while automation memory can make repeat workflows more valuable inside OpenAI’s environment.
Third-order effects
If these capabilities continue to converge, the competitive unit shifts from the standalone coding assistant to the agentic work surface that holds task context, tools, and execution controls.
That consolidation raises the importance of reliable permissions, sandboxing, and integration governance as agents move from suggesting work to operating software and browsers.
The trend: Codex is part of the shift from AI chat and code completion toward persistent, extensible agent workspaces that can coordinate and carry out multi-tool tasks.
Codex for (almost) everything. It can now use apps on your Mac, connect to more of your tools, create images, learn from previous actions, remember how you like to work, and take on ongoing and repeatable tasks. [video]
computer use is broadly here & it's genuinely very cool, but it's worth flagging the structural asymmetry here where apple & google don't have to pipe everything through accessibility apis unlike app players. vertical integration lets them operate deeper in the stack like the co…
With codex computer use + mac's iPhone Mirror app, GPT can use any app on your phone!!! Seems less accurate with clicks vs actual mac desktop apps, but it does work! Whats the best app to use this with?! [video]
Lots of major improvements to Codex! Computer use is a real update for me; it feels even more useful than I expected. It can use all of the apps on your Mac, in parallel and without interfering with your direct work.
We are super excited to launch the in-app browser inside Codex with comment mode! View any web pages & iterate with your agent quickly with just point and click. Codex will automatically capture a screenshot, the DOM element, and feed it as precise context to your next [video]
The new Codex is another jump in what agents will look like for knowledge workers. Agents that can code, work with tools, and use computers, can begin to execute long running tasks in the background for all areas of work. This can mean drafting reports, setting up data rooms fo…
Congratulations @OpenAI on bringing Codex to more of the software workflow. 🎉 Codex is becoming a system for more of a developer's workflow, helping them move across tools, create richer outputs, adapt to how they work, and carry longer-running tasks forward.
Background Computer Use Computer Use in Codex has some deep OS-level wizardry. Codex can see/click/type in apps in the background, without taking over your computer, and you can work in parallel. @AriX and team absolutely crushed here. Windows soon.
When we say for (almost) everything we mean it! All of these features have been game changers for me in the last days beyond just coding. I had automated threads keep an eye on my Slack, email, calendar, Google docs, and more for the launch and monitor PRs along the way. So [vide…
The real signal is in OpenAI's own framing: 3M weekly Codex users, and they claim nearly half of usage is already non-coding. Codex is being repositioned as a general work agent, not just a dev tool. „Workbench for real work, before, around, and after writing code. " This is a…
Big day for Codex! Codex can now work across more of your computer and more of your tools. Features many of you have been asking for are here: computer use, in-app browser, 90+ plugins, image generation, memory, thread automations, and more. Can't wait to see what you build! [vid…